No. 13 Anteaters Set Program Record in 29-4 Win Over Chapman

Friday, August 28

Irvine, Calif.

9 A.M

UC Irvine

Chapman

Photo by: Jake Hamlin

No. 13 Anteaters Set Program Record in 29-4 Win Over Chapman

August 28, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

By: Leah Fitzpatrick

IRVINE, Calif. – No. 13 UC Irvine opened the 2026 campaign in record-breaking fashion, cruising to a 29-4 victory over Chapman on Friday.

The Anteaters' 29 goals set a new program record, surpassing the previous mark of 28 goals, which was set on Oct. 10, 1969 against UC San Diego and matched on Sept. 3, 2011 against Fresno State.

The 'Eaters jumped out to a commanding 9-1 lead after the opening period, then shut out the Panthers in the second while adding five goals of their own to take a 14-1 advantage into halftime. UCI continued its offensive surge in the third, outscoring Chapman 9-2, before adding six more goals in the final frame to secure the record-setting 29-4 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS
Ethan Spoon and Andrew Bockstahler led the offensive attack with four goals apiece. Bockstahler added one assist for a career-high five points.
Samuel Bowman recorded five points on three goals and two assists, while also notching the first hat trick of his career.

Wyley Dale, Brody Luke (two assists, four points), Gage Verdegaal (two assists, four points), Johann Thrall (one assist, three points) and Aiden Sexton, who scored the first goals of his career, each found the back of the net twice.

Dylan Rosmann, Cole Francisco (three assists, four points), Keegan McGann, Ben Atkinson, Charlie Jones, Luke Kalynij (first career goal), Jayson Hubbard (three assists, four points) and Ryan Fresca (first career goal; two assists, three points) each added a goal.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The 'Eaters held Chapman to just one goal in the opening period, with freshman Nico Assalian seeing his first collegiate minutes in net. UCI wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Wyley Dale opened the scoring at the 6:51 mark before Gage Verdegaal added another just 39 seconds later at 6:12. Alex Lopez found the back of the net at 5:57, followed by Samuel Bowman at 4:57.Ben Atkinson extended the lead at 4:17 before Johann Thrall scored at 3:53. Freshman Ryan Fresca then recorded the first goal of his collegiate career at 2:54.

Dale added his second of the period at 2:12 before Chapman got on the board at 1:43 to make it 6-1. Bowman completed his two-goal opening period with a tally at 1:27, while Ethan Spoon scored with 48 seconds remaining. Thrall capped the explosive opening frame with his second goal of the period with just five seconds left, sending the 'Eaters into the second with a 9-1 advantage.

UCI continued its offensive dominance in the second period, holding the Panthers scoreless while adding five goals. Dylan Rosmann opened the scoring at 4:23 before Fresca found the back of the net again at 3:38 for his first career multi-goal game. Francisco added his second goal of the afternoon at 1:39, followed by Verdegaal at 0:53. Bowman completed his hat trick with one second remaining in the period, giving UCI a 14-1 lead at halftime.

Spoon opened the third-period scoring at 7:38 before Jayson Hubbard added a goal at 7:00 to make it 16-1. Chapman answered at 6:32, but Spoon responded with his third goal of the game at 5:34. Freshman Luke Kalynij scored the first goal of his career at 4:42 before Bockstahler added another at 3:01. Chapman scored again at 2:36, but Charlie Jones answered at 2:15. Brody Luke found the back of the net at 1:17 before Keegan McGann capped the nine-goal period with six seconds remaining, sending the 'Eaters into the fourth with a 23-3 lead.

The Anteaters outscored the Panthers 6-1 in the final frame to secure the record-breaking victory. Luke opened the scoring at 7:31 before Chapman answered at 6:21. Aiden Sexton then recorded the first goal of his career at 4:54. Bockstahler added back-to-back goals at 3:16 and 2:31 before Sexton scored again at 2:12, marking the first multi-goal game of his career. With 1:26 remaining, Bockstahler found the back of the net for the final time, delivering the record-breaking 29th goal and sealing the 29-4 victory.

UP NEXT
The 'Eaters continue play at the UCI Invitational when they face the George Washington Revolutionaries for the first time in program history on Aug. 28 at 2:20 p.m.